Dr. Cain Jagodzinski knows Fountain Hills’ schools.

He is a 20-year resident who has taught, coached and been a principal in the local district. His three kids have gone through the public schools here and are now all in high school.

Jagodzinski left to take a job in another district, however, he was called back to Fountain Hills and offered the job as district superintendent after the previous administrator was dismissed. He came into the job with a staff with low morale and high turnover as well as significant fiscal/bookkeeping deficiencies. These were challenges that needed to be addressed right away, but he said he is proud of the progress being made.

Jagodzinski said going into the fall school year in 2023 there was a 90% retention of staff. The district has 183 total employees and 118 of them are Fountain Hills residents, and 12 staff members are Fountain Hills alumni.

“We are working very hard to make this the best place to work,” he told the council.

They are also planting the seeds to help keep graduates in town or coming back after college. The district has partnered with the Fountain Hills Chamber of Commerce with an internship program. There are 145 seniors participating in an internship working through the chamber or East Valley Institute of Technology (EVIT). Jagodzinski said he is proud to have his own son participating in the EVIT fire science program.

The big news heading into the new school year has been the consolidation of the district facilities. The old McDowell Mountain Elementary School has been closed down except for a small portion being used for the Little Falcons Preschool. The former middle school is rechristened as McDowell Mountain Elementary and is being repurposed to address the needs of students in that age range. New playground equipment will be installed soon, and the library is receiving an upgrade to include a planetarium screen installed with private donations. Additional funds for library improvements were savings from the CIP budget.

This will be the nicest elementary school library around, according to Jagodzinski.

When Fountain High School was first built, it was a junior/senior high school campus. With consolidation grades six through eight have returned to the Palisades Boulevard campus. A new honors and gifted program known as i21 (innovation) has been adopted to challenge the best students. A virtual reality lab has been reinvigorated for both middle and high school students.

The high school has also created AVID, a college prep program, an AP Capstone program and numerous students participate in EVIT learning programs.

Jagodzinski also said he was pleased the district was able to get the replacement for the football field with the help of donors and hardworking fundraisers over the past year. The field, along with a new scoreboard was in place for the first game of the season.

“I was out there for the first practice and the kids were rolling on the turf and jumping up and down,” Jagodzinski said.

Councilwoman Peggy McMahon praised Jagodzinski for his work to turn the district around.

“Before the pandemic, this district had two of the highest ranking schools in the state,” she said. “With your leadership I am confident we can get back where we were.”

Mayor Ginny Dickey talked about how the district and the town were closely linked together and she went through her own list related to economic development, culture and growth.

“I can’t tell you how much I appreciate what you have done,” Vice Mayor Sharron Grzybowski told Jagodzinski.